Chapter 916: Chase and Escape
Zhang Ruochen took out a drop of Dragon Emperor Blood and swallowed it into his mouth. Then, he began to refine it with all his strength, using the immense power contained within the Dragon Emperor Blood to restore his depleted Saint Qi.
As the Dragon Emperor Blood entered his body, it was like a ball of fire, releasing a large amount of Saint Qi to replenish the consumption in his Qi Sea and meridians.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit asked, "Master Chen, how much longer will it take for your cultivation to fully recover?"
"Even after swallowing the Dragon Emperor Blood, it should still take about three hours."
With his current cultivation level, using the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force was indeed too risky. Once his Saint Qi was depleted, it would be impossible to recover it quickly.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the two armies locked in battle. Every moment, a large number of soldiers fell into pools of blood, never to rise again.
Then, he changed the subject and said, "Perhaps there is another way to recover my cultivation faster." Zhang Ruochen gently touched his Space Ring with his finger.
It was the Saint Yuan Dan he had bought from Ling Feiyu.
All along, Zhang Ruochen had been waiting for the right opportunity to adjust himself to his best condition before taking the Saint Yuan Dan and making a breakthrough to the Second-Step Half-Saint.
Taking the Saint Yuan Dan now was clearly not a good time.
However, the soldiers of the Undying Blood Clan and the Shi Family were fighting fiercely, and no one knew how the battle would develop next.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen had to recover his cultivation as quickly as possible to deal with the unpredictable variables ahead.
If he could use the Saint Yuan Dan to break through to the Second-Step Half-Saint in one go, then at the moment of breaking through the realm, Zhang Ruochen would be able to absorb a large amount of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and return to his peak state.
Moreover, after breaking through the realm, he would be even stronger.
Although this move was quite risky, it was still worth a try.
"Human brat, you have ruined the Second Prince's great plan. Today, this general will personally take your head."
An Undying Blood Clan general, clad in metal armor and wielding a blade engraved with a skull mark, charged toward Zhang Ruochen.
This man's cultivation had reached the Third-Step Half-Saint. He wanted to take advantage of Zhang Ruochen's weakened state to capture him and present him to the Second Prince for merit.
Zhang Ruochen raised his head and glanced at the Undying Blood Clan general. He let out a soft shout, "Nine-Strike Electric Blade."
A vast amount of Spiritual Power gathered in Zhang Ruochen's right palm.
In an instant, within a radius of a hundred zhang, thousands of purple electric patterns appeared.
As Zhang Ruochen's palm struck out, those electric patterns converged into nine blades, flying out one after another, sending the Undying Blood Clan general flying backward dozens of zhang.
The Undying Blood Clan general felt his arms both painful and numb, a look of shock appearing on his face. "You used a Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force with your cultivation level, and you still have the strength to fight back?"
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his Spiritual Power and said, "Even if all my Saint Qi is exhausted, dealing with you is still as easy as turning over my hand."
"Arrogant."
The Undying Blood Clan general let out a strange sonic wave.
"Swish, swish."
In an instant, two other Undying Blood Clan generals at the Second-Step Half-Saint realm led two teams of Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators, flying over and surrounding Zhang Ruochen.
"Human brat, are you still so arrogant now?" The Undying Blood Clan general at the Third-Step Half-Saint realm sneered.
All the Undying Blood Clan cultivators stood in a peculiar formation, forming a Combined Attack Formation, and closed in on Zhang Ruochen.
"Master Chen, let me deal with them."
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit had long been impatient. In its eyes, the three Undying Blood Clan Half-Saints standing ahead were not enemies but three clusters of Half-Saint Light floating before it.
Thump!
Zhang Ruochen knocked on the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's head to sober it up. "Your task is to protect me. Once my cultivation is fully restored, you won't be short of Half-Saint Light."
Then, Zhang Ruochen released the Demon Ape from the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and said, "Demon Ape, go and deal with all of them."
As he released the Demon Ape, Zhang Ruochen swallowed the Saint Yuan Dan and began to cultivate with all his might, circulating the technique of the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*.
"Roar."
The Demon Ape's cultivation had reached the Fourth-Step Half-Saint. Its body was over a hundred meters tall, and every strand of its long fur was like a metal steel needle.
The Demon Ape stomped its foot on the ground, and a ring of pitch-black demonic fiendish aura surged outward in all directions, blasting the soil and rocks into the air.
The Combined Attack Formation set up by the Undying Blood Clan collapsed in an instant. Apart from the three Half-Saint generals, all the other Undying Blood Clan members spat blood and suffered severe injuries.
"What a formidable beast. This general will test your mettle."
The Undying Blood Clan general at the Third-Step Half-Saint realm transformed into a streak of blood light, soaring into the sky. He slashed his blade diagonally downward, aiming for the Demon Ape's neck.
"Bang!"
The saint-level blade struck the Demon Ape's neck, but it only cut a half-foot-deep wound and could go no further.
"Its defense is this strong?"
The Undying Blood Clan general's expression changed. He immediately withdrew his blade and gathered Saint Qi again. Just as he was about to strike a second time, the Demon Ape's massive hand grabbed his body first.
The five fingers, as thick as pillars, suddenly clenched with force, producing a series of "crackling" bone-shattering sounds.
The Undying Blood Clan general's bones were all broken, turning him into a soft, mushy lump of flesh. Even his eyeballs bulged out. His death was quite gruesome.
The Demon Ape extracted the Half-Saint Light from the mushy flesh and threw it into its mouth.
Then, its bell-like eyes fixed on the other two Undying Blood Clan generals, and it let out a fierce roar.
The Demon Ape's defensive power and physical strength were extremely formidable, far surpassing human cultivators at the Fourth-Step Half-Saint realm, startling the two Undying Blood Clan generals.
"Retreat."
They did not dare to engage the Demon Ape in battle. They immediately spread their wings and fled the area. Capturing Zhang Ruochen would indeed be a great merit, but they were not willing to lose their lives for it.
The Demon Ape kicked off the ground with both feet and chased after them at high speed, wanting to kill them and seize their Half-Saint Light.
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit wanted to swallow the Half-Saint Light to break through to the Fifth-Step Half-Saint, and the Demon Ape wanted the same thing.
"They're chasing fast."
The two Undying Blood Clan generals each took out a scroll of Sacred Edict, unleashing a speed comparable to a Saint's, and rushed behind the Second Prince.
"Second Prince, the human brat's giant ape is extremely powerful. Your subordinates are no match for it," one of the Undying Blood Clan generals said with great shame.
The other Undying Blood Clan general looked quite anxious, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. "Please, Second Prince, take action and suppress it."
The Second Prince, however, remained calm and composed. He gave them a cold glance. "Look at the little bit of spine you have."
Then, he added, "Leave this to this prince. You two go deal with other enemies. Make sure to hold the Zhenyu Ancient Clan's soldiers back at Golden Sparrow City."
After giving the order, the Second Prince spread his pair of silver fleshy wings and flew toward the Demon Ape.
Sensing the powerful aura emanating from the Undying Blood Clan's Second Prince, the Demon Ape immediately swung its arms and pounded its chest several times.
Its already massive body grew even taller, as if it had turned into a towering black mountain peak.
A fist imbued with demonic fiendish aura descended from above, aimed at the rapidly flying Second Prince.
"Heh, overestimating yourself."
The Second Prince pressed his palm forward.
In front of his palm print, a huge blood handprint condensed and collided with the Demon Ape's fist.
"Bang!"
Struck by the palm force, the Demon Ape's massive body shook violently and staggered backward.
"To be able to block one of this prince's palms, you are indeed stronger than an ordinary Sixth-Step savage beast."
The Second Prince gathered power again and struck out a second palm print.
This time, the palm force was even stronger. Even his palm burst into blazing flames, turning into a five-fingered cloud of fire.
"Swish."
Just then, Zhang Ruochen flew up from the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's back, landed on the Demon Ape's left shoulder, and flicked his finger, sending a black pill flying out.
Below, the Second Prince saw the black pill and his expression changed slightly. He immediately withdrew his palm, kicked off the ground with both feet, and retreated more than ten miles.
"Bang."
The black pill exploded, releasing a cloud of Death Evil Qi that corroded even the soil on the ground into black.
"Quick, leave this place," Zhang Ruochen said to the Demon Ape.
"Right! You're no match for him. That Undying Blood Clan Second Prince is extremely powerful. Even if we join forces, I'm afraid we'll only end up in a miserable defeat," the Devouring Elephant Rabbit said nervously, standing on the Demon Ape's right shoulder.
White vapor surged from the Demon Ape's nostrils. Then, it turned around, took huge strides, and rushed out into the endless mountain forest.
The Second Prince looked at the Death Evil Qi on the ground, a puzzled expression on his face. "How did Zhang Ruochen get his hands on Death Evil Qi? And it seems he isn't afraid of it at all."
Although the Second Prince was quite afraid of Death Evil Qi, he knew very well that he could not let Zhang Ruochen escape under any circumstances.
Zhang Ruochen was definitely very weak right now, and this was the best time to seize the Skyward Sword.
The Second Prince spread his wings, flapped them once, stirring up a fierce gust of wind, and gave chase.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the Demon Ape's shoulder, dividing half of his attention to refine the Saint Yuan Dan and break through to the Second-Step Half-Saint realm.
He used the other half of his attention to constantly watch the direction behind him. Who knew when the Undying Blood Clan's Second Prince would catch up?
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had already refined most of the Saint Yuan Dan, and the Saint Qi in his body had recovered to about fifty percent.
The Dragon Emperor Blood was also burning wildly in his meridians and Saint Veins, transforming into Saint Qi and Blood Qi, filling Zhang Ruochen's entire body with power.
"I must break through to the Second-Step Half-Saint realm before the Undying Blood Clan's Second Prince catches up."
A low roar echoed deep within Zhang Ruochen's heart. His muscles tensed up, and the Saint Qi in his body circulated faster and faster.
"Zhang Ruochen, you are the sword-bearer of the Skyward Sword and the heir of Xuanji Sword Saint. Running away is all you can do? Do you dare to fight this prince and see whose sword path is superior?"
The Second Prince's voice came from the edge of the sky, tinged with a hint of mockery and sarcasm.
Immediately after, a blood sword tore through the sky, pierced through the clouds, and slashed down at the legs of the rapidly running Demon Ape.
Zhang Ruochen was not an impulsive person, but at this moment, he had no choice but to act.
"Abyssal."
A sword intent as powerful as a Sword Saint's surged from Zhang Ruochen's body, controlling the Abyssal Ancient Sword to intercept the incoming blood sword.
"Bang!"
The two saint swords clashed violently, and immediately, two chaotic waves of sword energy flew out in all directions.
The blood sword unleashed by the Second Prince was clearly no ordinary Hundred-Pattern Saint Artifact. The immense power it released actually sent the Abyssal Ancient Sword flying.
The blood sword continued its descent, slashing down on the Demon Ape's right leg. With a "puchi" sound, it cut through two-thirds of the thigh. Blood gushed out from the wound like a fountain.
Because of the severe injury to its leg, the Demon Ape lost its balance, stumbled forward, and crashed into a large mountain, causing a "rumbling" sound as the mountain collapsed. Then, its massive body fell to the ground. (To be continued.)